Yes you are right, he was that stud all star NBA player from 2006 through 2012 who played for the Indiana Pacers. They might not have won a ton of games in some of those years but he sure put up numbers and did it in a first class way.

Now that the Indiana Pacers are going to dethrone the Miami Heat and take the NBA Title it’s a shame that Danny Granger is gone and won’t be around to see it.

Oh wait…there’s that funny thing going on with the Pacers right now and I believe it goes back to the Lost Leadership of Danny Granger. Let me explain.

This was the year for the Indiana Pacers. After fighting to seven games with the Miami Heat in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals Larry Bird added Luis Scola and CJ Watson to the bench to bolster a lineup that was set to challenge the Miami Heat and take the 2014 NBA Title.

The Pacers got off to a 15-1 start and were 44-13 heading to the month of March. They also talked all year long about how they wanted and needed that number one seed in the playoffs. Larry Bird upgraded even more by trading for Evan Turner and Andrew Bynum and dealt away Danny Granger, who was barely logging any minutes after coming off of a big injury. No big deal.

Actually it seems to be a very big deal.

While Granger was not stuffing the stat sheet the chemistry in the locker room fizzled and the leadership was nowhere to be seen when he left. They stumbled to the finish line of the regular season with a 12-13 record and barely avoided being only the 3rd team in NBA History to lose to a #8 seed (one with a losing record nonetheless!) Just because they beat the Hawks and avoided an epic collapse does not mean they are out of the woods yet.

Grumblings started coming out that the leadership went out the door when Granger was traded. He was Paul George’s mentor and there was in fighting on the team now that Granger used to handle.

Apparently no one is up to the task of handling it. Roy Hibbert has quit in games and Evan Turner has picked fights allegedly in practice. The team is mutinying against Lance Stephenson but Larry Bird loves Lance. Head Coach Frank Vogel may lose his job.

All because of the lost leadership of Danny Granger?

Maybe not all because of Granger leaving but it goes to show you how important leaders are in this world. They come from all places. They aren’t always the strongest, the most talented, or the best looking.

Sometimes leaders emerge from the end of the bench or from the injured reserve like Granger did. The players have all come out to say that Danny Granger was the glue that kept them together.

Why can’t anyone take his place? That’s easy for a leader to answer but if it is a team full of guys that don’t want to take the reins then it’s a difficult question to answer.

What can we do in our lives? We need to understand that all roles matter. That having leadership in every nook and cranny of anything you do in both your personal and professional life is imperative to the success in your world.

The lost leadership of Danny Granger may cost the Indiana Pacers an NBA Title. Don’t let leadership get lost in any facet of your life.

What can you do? Identify the leaders and let them lead in a positive uplifting manner in all team environments of your life. Strive to be there for your teammates and fight for what’s right and what you believe in and you will be a leader too.

If you are ready to start doing something in your life that you really love and believe in then join my team over at Marketing Fun With Mike by signing up for my newsletter. You’ll get inspirational interviews from leaders in this world and my new story guide that will give you steps to live the life you want and deserve!

Leadership can trump talent and I believe that. I will teach you to be a Hot Dog Extraordinaire in your life just like Danny Granger taught the rest of his teammate to be an NBA Extraordinaire in their lives.